Sup"porter"

Well, enough has been said about the footballing world. The players, the managers, the clubs, UEFA, FIFA et all... It's time to talk about the more important contributors to the sport - The supporters.

Warning : This might NOT please many people...

Undoubtedly, the supporters of a football club/country are the most important ingredients to making football what it is today, and what it will be tomorrow. We all know that. But this post is not about that.

A decade ago, not many people I knew, even considered Chelsea as their club to support, to watch, to pay to watch.Then, Mr. Abramovic arrived and shortly thereafter, Mr. Mourinho arrived. Needless to say, many good players arrived and not surprisingly, Chelsea started winning titles(NOT by playing the best football at most times). Suddenly, there were a whole barrage of people supporting Chelsea. People who knew zilch about football were supporting Chelsea left, right and center. People even switched their support from their own club to Chelsea. Is this what you call a "Die-Hard" supporter? Is not a supporter responsible to support a club through the best and worst of times?

I am not saying, people should not watch the football, admire it etc. Hey I am a Liverpool fan and I admire the way Manchester United play at times(Again, I am a football fan first, then a Liverpool fan). But never in a million years would I "yap" about the football United play or
even think of being an United fan.

These people are definitely contributors to the football world (what with the merchandise, tickets et all). But are such people really good for the world watching football? More importantly, are such people really needed for the watching world?

You may be intrigued by the timing of this post, but, it might just be the right timing after all. What with the Manchester City explosion going on.

P.S. I hope you get the subtle pun in the title.

Alonso/Ribery another Ronaldo?

Disclaimer : I am not comparing the players.

All I am doing is trying to make sense of what is happening in the transfer market. Specifically, with respect to Real Madrid.

Madrid have been very open about their interests in Alonso and Ribery but neither Bayern nor Liverpool are refusing to budge. In both cases, it looks like the player wants to leave, but the manager/club do not want to sell.

Any dejavus?

Any ESP's on whats going to happen next season with Ribery/Alonso? (i.e. if it does not happen this season)

Now, besides the "Will he, wont he" sagas, I would like someone to define the term "tapping up". And can someone please tell me if it is legal? Or is it "officially" illegal? I, for one, am getting sick of it. Anyone care to join me?

HELL of a 24 hours

The first time I heard about Owen's imminent switch to Manchester United was on BBC. And one can only imagine the rage I had inside of me. Or for the matter, inside of any Liverpool supporter. The very thought of a Liverpool player playing for Manchester United is mind boggling. And of all the players, Michael Owen. The player who made me who I am today.

On a neutral note, the move might resurrect Owen's career. Not that it needed any resurrection. Just that he needed to be in a top club to produce the goods. As for getting into the England frame is concerned, well, its all up to Mr. Capello.

As for Manchester United, well, they have got themselves a goalscorer. They can go to hell.

When Owen left Liverpool in search of silverware in 2004, they won the Champions League in 2005. Now, Owen has joined United in 2009. The Premier League might well be on its way to Liverpool. Who knows?

P.S. I never thought the 4 labels for this post would ever be connected.

Not so much

I thought Armageddon would hit the English Premier League as well. Except Manchester City (reserved for another day), the other clubs seem to be playing it safe. Too safe, for my liking.

Yes, there have been crazy and monstrous bids from Chelsea and Manchester United for certain players. The likes of Pato, Maicon, Ribery, Benzema and co have been subject to bids from the big clubs from England. But, nothing concrete has happened yet.

On the contrary, it is the cash strapped (supposedly) Liverpool who have made the first big money signing (Glen Johnson) among the big four of the EPL. I would be amazed if the transfer window ends like this.

More to come, I assume.

Armageddon

What a summer of transfers it has been already. To think, it has just started.

In the day of the so called financial crisis, ridiculous amounts of money have been flying around and my guess is, they will continue to do so. The past 2 weeks in football has dwarfed anything that has happened in the past.

My only worry is this. I hope (sincerely) that whatever happens this summer (the entire summer) will not have negative effects in the future. There is a distinct possibility of many clubs doing a Leeds or a Newcastle even.

As a Liverpool fan, I think, Liverpool's financial worry at this moment of time is a blessing in disguise. This should be the time to be smart, consolidate, and not be carefree.

This summer might go a long way in deciding football's future. Armageddon, on the cards...

P.S. More to come on individual deals in the market. Stay tuned.

Football - Bloody hell!!

A truly magnificent season for Barcelona, who won the Spanish Cup, La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

All this after going 3 years without a trophy.

All this while displaying a brand of football which goes back to the Johan Cryuff days. Or so I hear. But this Barcelona side has just revamped the modern definition of "football" and "team". Lets just hope it continues.

10 years ago, Sir Alex famously said "Football - Bloody hell!!". Well, this season, it was "Football - Bloody heaven!!"

Arsene "Hmmm"grr

Arsene “When”grr comes across as a coach who likes to bring young talent through(as I’ve mentioned before). And everyone praises him for that. They call him a great manager who has done wonders with kids. At the same time, he’s criticized for his reluctance to buy big. He nurtures relatively unknown young talent and makes them into “Big” players. Henry, Vieira, Ljunberg, Fabregas to name a few.

But there might be another angle to this. The fact that he has hardly bought 4 or 5 “Big” players at a time means that he has not managed 4 or 5 “Big”(bought) players simultaneously(above 25 years of age). Yes, he has managed Henry, Vieira etc etc but most of them were with him from a young age. Yes, he did manage a Bergkamp and now an Arshavin(whom he has bought "Big") but look at his other “Big” players. Most of them were already there. Can he be called a great manager without having to manage Big egos? Is this the reason he is reluctant to leave Arsenal and go to a Madrid for instance?

Hmmm, something to think about…